National Institute of Plant Genome Research
 
    Dr. Alok Krishna Sinha
    Staff Scientist IV
    Ph.D: National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow
    Postdoctoral Fellow: University of Regensburg (AvH fellow) and University of Wuerzburg Germany
    Tel: 91-11-26741612,14,17 Ext. - 188
    Direct - 26735188
    Fax: 91-11-26741658
    E-mail: alok_sinha@nipgr.res.in, alokksinha@yahoo.com
 Research Interest
1. Dissecting mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade in rice
Our group is interested in understanding the complexity of signals being transduced through mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade in rice. The MAPK cascade is evolutionarily conserved among the eukaryotes and typically consists of three types of protein kinases, MAPK, MAPK kinase (MAPKK), and MAPKK kinase (MAPKKK). By responding to external stimuli, the MAPK cascade plays a critical role in gene expression, metabolism, cell death, proliferation, and differentiation in animals and yeast. In plants, the MAPK cascade is also involved in various biotic and abiotic stress responses, hormone responses, cell division, and developmental processes. Complete sequencing of the Oryza sativa genome has revealed that the MAPK family consists of 8 MAPKK and 16 MAPK genes. By using a combination of molecular and biochemical techniques along with genomics and proteomic approaches we are trying to identify the function of specific MAPKs in rice. We have a pool of rice MAPKs, MAPKKs and MAPKKKs and with the help of protein-protein interactions, coimmuno-precipitation and plant transformation either for the over expression or silencing by RNAi/Artificial miRNA strategy, we are trying to dissect the MAPK cascade being stimulated by different stresses.
 Group Members
Dr. Monika JaggiNIPGR Postdoc
Mr. Dhammaprakash P WankhadePh.D. Student
Mr. Arsheed Hussain SheikhPh.D. Student
Mr. Raghu Ram B.Ph.D. Student
Mr. Dipul BiswasJRF
 Selected Research Publications
Kumar K, Rao KP, Biswas D and Sinha AK (2010). Rice WNK1 is regulated by abiotic stress and involved in internal circadian rhythm. Plant Signaling and Behavior Volume 5, Issue 11 (In press).
Taneja J, Jaggi M, Wankhade DP, and Sinha AK (2010) Effect of loss of T-DNA genes on MIA biosynthetic pathway gene regulation and alkaloid accumulation in Catharanthus roseus hairy roots. Plant Cell Report. DOI 10.1007/s00299-010-0895
Rao KP, Richa T, Kumar K, Raghuram B and Sinha AK (2010) In silico analysis reveals 75 members of mitogen activated protein kinase kinase kinase gene family in rice. DNA Res. 17(3): 139-53.
Rao KP, Vani G, Kumar K and Sinha AK (2009) Rhythmic expression of Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Activity in Rice. Molecules and Cells 28: 417-422
Hyun TK, Hoffmann A, Sinha AK and Roitsch T (2009) Tomato mitogen activated protein kinases regulate the expression of extracellular invertase Lin6 in response to stress related stimuli. Functional Plant Biology 36: 1088-97.
Gupta M, Sharma P, Sarin NB and Sinha AK (2009) Differential responses of arsenic stress in two varieties of Brassica juncea. Chemosphere 74: 1201:1208
Kumar K, Rao KP, Sharma P and Sinha AK (2008) Differential regulation of rice mitogen activated protein kinase kinase (MKK) by abiotic stress. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 46: 891-897
Hofmann MG, Sinha AK, Proels RK and Roitsch T (2008) Cloning and characterization of a novel LpWRKY1 transcription factor in tomato. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 46 (5-6): 533-40
Berger S, Sinha AK and Roitsch T (2007) Plant physiology meets phytopathology: relations between plant primary metabolism and plant-pathogen-interactions. J. Exp. Bot. 58: 4019-2026.
Kumar S, Dutta A, Sinha AK and Sen J (2007) Cloning, characterization and localization of a novelbasic peroxidase gene from Catharanthus roseus. FEBS Journal 274: 1290-1303.
Iqbal M, Evans P, Lledo A, Verdaguer X, Pericas MA, Riera A, Loeffler C, Sinha AK, Mueller MJ (2005) Total synthesis and biological activity of 13,14-dehydro-12-oxo-phytodienoic acids (deoxy-J1-phytoprostanes). Chembiochem. 6(2): 276-80.
Pathre UV, Sinha AK, Shirke PA and Ranade SA (2004) Modulation of Sucrose Phosphate Synthase (SPS) activity in leaves of Prosopis juliflora during diurnal and seasonal changes in environment. Biologia Plantarum 48(2): 227-235.
Thoma I, Loeffler C, Sinha AK, Gupta M, Krischke M, Steffan B, Roitsch T and Mueller MJ (2003) Cyclopentenone isoprostanes induced by reactive oxygen species trigger defense gene activation and phytoalexin accumulation in plants. The Plant Journal 34: 363-375. (Cover article).
Roitsch T, Balibrea ME, Hofmann M, Proels R and Sinha AK (2003) Extracellular invertase: key metabolic enzyme and PR protein. Journal of Experimental Botany 54(382): 513-24.
Sinha AK, Asif MH, Nath P and Pathre UV (2003) Ethylene and sugar signalling in plants: Do the signal transduction cascade intersect each other? in Molecular Insight in Plant Biology. Eds Pravendra Nath, Avtar Matoo, Shirish A. Ranade and J. Weil. Publsher: Oxford & IBH/Science, 247-263.
Link V, Sinha AK, Vasistha P, Hofmann MG, Proels RK, Ehness R and Roitsch T (2002) Activation of a MAPK by heat in tomato cell suspension cultures. FEBS Letter 531(2): 179-183.
Sinha AK and Roitsch T (2002) Use of photoautotrophic suspension cultures in plant science. Photosynthetica 40(4): 481-492.
Sinha AK, Hofmann M, Romer U, Kockenberger W, Elling L and Roitsch T (2002) Metabolizable and non-metabolizable sugars activate different signal transduction pathways in tomato. Plant Physiology 128: 1480-1489.
Sinha AK and Roitsch T (2002) Effect of sugars on photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence in photoautotrophic tomato suspension cell cultures. Photosynthetica 39: 611-614.
Link V, Hofmann M, Sinha AK, Ehness R, Strnad M and Roitsch T (2002) Biochemical evidence for the activation of distinct subsets of mitogen-activated protein Kinase by voltage and defence related stimuli. Plant Physiology 128: 271-281.
Roitsch T, Ehness R, Goetz M, Hause B, Hoffman M and Sinha AK (2000) Regulation and function of extracellular invertase from higher plants in relation to assimilate partitioning, stress responses and sugar signaling. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 27: 815-825.
Pathre UV, Sinha AK, Ranade SA and Shirke PA (2002) Activation of sucrose-phosphate synthase from Prosopis juliflora in light. Effects of protein kinase and protein phosphatase inhibitors. Physiologia Plantarum 108: 249-254.
Sane PV, Sinha AK, Shirke PA and Pathre UV (1999) Regulation of Sucrose Phosphate Synthase in Prosopis juliflora. Journal of Plant Biology 26 (3): 1-8.
Sinha AK, Pathre UV and Sane PV (1998) Essential histidyl residues at the active site(s) of sucrose-phosphate synthase from Prosopis juliflora. BBA 1388: 397-404.
Pathre U, Sinha AK, Shirke PA and Sane PV (1998) Factors determining the midday depression of photosynthesis in trees under monsoon climate. Trees 12: 472-481.
Sinha AK, Shirke PA, Pathre U and Sane PV (1998) Activation of sucrose-phosphate synthase in leaves of Prosopis juliflora: effect of okadaic acid. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 36: 65-69.
Sinha AK, Shirke PA, Pathre U and Sane PV (1997) Sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) in tree species: Light/dark regulation involves a component of protein turnover in Prosopis juliflora (Sw DC). Biochemistry and Molecular Biology International 43: 421-431.
Sinha AK, Pathre U and Sane PV (1997) Sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) in tree species: Purification and characterization from the leaves of Prosopis juliflora. Phytochemistry 46: 441-447.
Sinha AK, Shirke PA, Pathre U and Sane PV (1997) Diurnal variations in photosynthesis in trees. Changes in sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) and ribulose 1.5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RUBISCO) in leaves of Prosopis juliflora. Photosynthetica 34: 115-124.